The Golden Apple

The Blessing of the Animals is over and the villagers, and of course the priests, are making their way through the archway and up into the medieval village for the sung mass in the Church of St. Barthélemy. During the ceremony, members of the comité des fêtes, accompanied by three musicians, made the traditional offering of la pomme d'or (the golden apple). This tradition started in medieval times when the nobles made an offering to the clergy and it's been continued ever since. After the mass, a procession, in which a statue of St. Barthélemy is carried aloft, goes from street to tiny street, throughout the village.